Lamu, Kenya|• Image generated by AI.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has prayed for Africa’s wealthiest man, Aliko Dangote, while crediting his administration’s policies and encouragement with helping inspire the businessman’s transition from cement importation to large-scale manufacturing.
Obasanjo offered the prayer while speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony of a proposed $16 billion oil refinery project in Lamu, Kenya.
Addressing Dangote, the former president said: “May God continue to expand your coast. And you are my boss. You will continue to be my boss.”
Obasanjo recalled that his intervention in 2003 helped encourage Dangote to move into large-scale cement production, a development he said eventually contributed to the businessman’s expansion into petroleum refining.
He also recounted his recent visit to the Dangote Refinery in Lagos, where he said he was impressed by the scale of the facility.
According to Obasanjo, Dangote gathered his workers during the visit and publicly acknowledged the role played by the former president’s administration in creating the conditions that encouraged him to move from cement importation to domestic production.
Obasanjo said Dangote told his workers that the former president was the person they should thank for the policies that enabled him to venture into cement manufacturing.
He quoted Dangote as saying:
“All of you working here, the man you have to thank is this man, that’s me. I didn’t have anything to do with his refinery or what it is. He said, without this man, I would not have been in cement production.”
Obasanjo said Dangote subsequently acknowledged that the cement business provided the encouragement and inspiration for the refinery project.
“And it is the cement production that provided the encouragement, the inspiration for the refinery. So, thank you. They all shouted and thanked me,” he recalled.
The former president said Dangote’s industrial expansion illustrated what could be achieved when Nigerian entrepreneurs were encouraged to invest in production rather than depend heavily on imports.
He also praised Dangote for undertaking capital-intensive projects requiring substantial investment and long-term commitment.
Obasanjo noted that Dangote had expanded the opportunities created by his administration beyond Nigeria, particularly through cement manufacturing across Africa.
He said the businessman was now applying a similar expansion strategy to the petroleum sector, with the Dangote Refinery representing a major step in Nigeria’s industrial development.
Throughout his remarks, Obasanjo repeatedly praised Dangote, telling him: “You are my boss.”
He also expressed the hope that Dangote’s industrial ventures would continue to expand, offering his prayer: “May God continue to expand your coast.”
